Kisses Of Blood
by Shiro Usagi-tan
Summary: Hinata transfers to Hope's Peak and expects a normal school life, but...the dorm he's assigned to live in is full of vampires...? Short summary because word limit. Komaeda/Hinata; AU, fic will contain disturbing themes in the future.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** I've wanted to write a vampire story for this ship for the longest time omg. I love the idea of vampire!Komaeda. Anyway, please keep in mind that this fic will be AU! …which also means that although the character will retain their original personalities, **their backgrounds and everything else will be changed for the sake of AU as well as the way Hope's Peak Academy works.** I think I should put this here as well as a warning, but this fic **will contain disturbing themes and such** in the future chapters – Stockholm Syndrome being one of them, possibly. My plan is to weave a dark and disturbing story with twisted romance if my writing skill doesn't betray me oops.

Also, the story will switch from several POVs often. Thanks and I hope you enjoy?

* * *

**General POV**

The sound of water droplets hitting the windows could be heard as rain starts to pour down from the dark sky. The rain gradually grows heavier and thunder makes its cameo when the rain grew heavy enough. The room is in pitch black darkness, and the only source of light is when the thunder strikes. A girl's whimpers and soft cries echo in the formerly silent room.

The girl whimpers more and tries to push her captor away. Currently, she finds herself trapped in her captor's arms, her head bend in such an angle so that her neck is exposed, and a pair of lips is on her exposed neck.

"Sto—ah!" She cries out softly. It feels painful because her captor isn't trying to kiss or suck her neck – rather, her captor is biting her neck. Blood trails down from where the girl is bitten and she groans in pain as her hands reach up to her captor's hair, her fingers entangling themselves in his white locks.

A loud, breathy sigh can be heard as the girl is released from the boy's mouth. There is a lot of blood flowing from the spot she was bitten, and the blood eventually stained her white uniform. She falls to her knees and the man manages to catch her before she falls completely flat on the floor, having most of her energy drained. The boy chuckles at the sight before him.

Then he hears a knock on the door.

"Come in." He calls out and the door opens to reveal a pink-haired girl standing at the entrance, a stern expression plastered on her face. "Ah Nanami-san, fancy seeing you here!"

"Komaeda-kun." She starts, eyeing the unconscious girl in the white-haired boy's arms. "Do you understand what you're doing? You're going to get us all in trouble. What if they find out?"

"You worry too much." The boy addressed as Komaeda let out a breathy laugh. "Did you possibly forget the outcome that occurs once someone is bitten by one of our kind? They won't have any memories what happened prior meeting us."

"I know, but…" The pink-haired call, whom Komaeda had addressed as Nanami, speaks with hesitation in her voice. She bites her lower lip as she takes another glance at the unconscious girl before glancing back at Komaeda. "It doesn't mean that it won't put us at a risk."

Nanami walks over to Komaeda and checks the neck of the unconscious girl. She touches the spot where she was bitten. "The wound isn't so serious. Thank god you know your limits." She sighs in relief and leans down to carry the unconscious girl. "I'll be taking her back to her room. Please keep my words in mind, Komaeda-kun."

Komaeda shoots her a mysterious smile and nods at her, but Nanami has a feeling that he would betray what she told her sooner or later anyway. He has always been like this, although she knows Komaeda has a reason why. Nanami looks at him with a pleading look before she turns around to leave the room.

The white-haired boy gets up and dusts his uniform. He heads towards the bathroom and the first thing he does upon arriving is turn on the tap water at the basin. He looks into the mirror and is greeted with quite of an ugly sight – blood is dripping down his chin from one corner of his lips. Komaeda scoffs at this. He washes his own face and cleans himself with a towel before he exits the bathroom to get some sleep.

* * *

**Hinata's POV**

It's a rainy morning. Lately, it's been raining a lot. Maybe it's the rainy season. Who knows? Well, at least _I_ don't. I don't catch up with that kind of stuff at all in general.

I'm Hajime Hinata, a 15 year old normal highschooler who leads a normal life and used to attend a normal school…until my parents transferred me to a boarding school – Hope's Peak Academy. According to articles from the internet, Hope's Peak Academy is a prestigious school for prodigies. It's obviously a private school that most rich kids attend from the sound of it.

Obviously, Hope's Peak Academy is _not_ for me; at least I don't think I deserve to attend a school like that. I'm just a normal highschooler with nothing remarkable about and with average grades. I don't fit into any of the criteria at all. Apparently, the school also picks its own students, but you're allowed to pay your way in for a guaranteed good education too.

That's exactly what my parents did – help me pay my way in. They want me to have good grades and graduate with a certificate and they told me that "this school will guarantee me a successful future", which I call bullshit. I mean, okay the school _does_ look the part, but who knows? Every school has horrible teachers and things like that.

And so, here I am – standing before the entrance of the school of prodigy, carrying with me a huge luggage. It's five days before the semester starts with me being a second year. I feel really nervous. I mean, it's natural to, right? What if I meet assholes here and made unpleasant memories? I shake my head._ 'No, Hajime, stay positive. You can do this.'_ I think to myself.

The moment I stepped inside the school building, an air of unfamiliarity immediately hits me. It's going to take time for me to get used to this, especially the fact that I'm going to be a student of a school prodigies attend.

First, I got to go find my room. I look at the paper the principal has given me with details about my assigned room and roommate. My room is in Dorm B, on the fifth floor. The assigned room number is Room 48 and my supposed roommate is a boy called Kazuichi Souda. I hope he's a nice person or at least someone easy to deal with.

I follow the road signs around the school campus and eventually find my way to Dorm B. At least it's a nice, big dorm, and hopefully it will have dorm rooms of decent size. From what I heard, school dorms tend to be small and shitty. This somehow helps convince me the fact that this really _is_ a rich school.

"Room 48…Room 48…" I keep repeating the number of my assigned room as I climb up the stairs. The stairs look as if it was moved here from a 5-star hotel, or a mansion that once belonged to an Earl in United Kingdom. I have no idea what I'm saying at this point. You get the drift, right?

Soon, I reach my supposed destination. I reach for the doorknob, but stop once I hear sounds coming from inside the room. "Someone's inside?" I ask to no one in particular. Maybe it's my supposed roommate. This makes me even more nervous. I swallow as hard as I can and I adjust my tie before reaching out to knock on the door.

"Oh, c'mon on in!" A voice calls out and I turn on the doorknob slowly, as if it were something very fragile. Sitting inside the room, on the floor, is a boy around the same age as mine. He has dark pink hair and wears a yellow beanie on his head. I look around the room, it's kind of messy and there are a lot of screwdrivers and the like lying around.

"Kazuichi Souda…?" I say and he nods in head in confirmation.

"Yep, that's me. Yer…uhh…" He scratches the back of his head. "Hold on, I got this. Yer…Jinata, right?"

"Hinata." I correct him. "I'm Hajime Hinata."

"Right, Hinata." He nods again. "Oh yeah, we're gonn' be having bunk beds. Ya don't mind, right?"

I shake my head. The room is thankfully of decent size. Not too big a room, but not too small a room either. Just enough space to put all my stuffs, I guess. Souda stands up, dusting his jumpsuit and extends a hand to me. "Gotta do this as a form of manners now." He grins. "Nice to meet ya, Hinata. Hope we can get along."

"The same goes for me." I smile and reach out to grab his hand, performing a friendly handshake with him.

"But man, it's been a while since I last had a roommate."

"What happened to the previous one?" I ask, curiosity poking me in the face. I forgot the fact that Souda came to this school before me, which means he shared rooms with another person before.

"Uhh…" He scratches his cheeks and looks a little displeased. Should I have not asked? "The previous roommie was some really rude guy and he wouldn't stop tryna tick me off." Souda explains. Oh, maybe I did ask something I shouldn't have asked. He turns and grins at me. "So I'm glad my roomie this time is someone nice!"

I smile back. Well, at least one of my worries is eased. My roommate seems nice and easy enough and I guess we're getting along so far.

"What class are ya in though?"

"I'm assigned to be in Class 78. What about you?"

"Hey, that's my class as well!" He beams excitedly. "So we're not only roommies, but classmates as well, huh?"

I feel even more relieved now. At least someone I know is in the same class as me, and he's my roommate too. I settle my luggage near our bunk bed and take another glance around the room. There's something that still bugs me though…

"…why is the room full of screwdrivers?"

"Oh, I was tryna invent something." Souda says and I shoot him a strange look.

"Invent?"

"Yeah, invent! I have a talent for making things." He winks at me and beams proudly. "Don't ya know? They call me the pro mechanic 'round here."

"You want to be a mechanic when you grow up?"

"Hell yeah!" He flashes me a teeth grin and places both of his hands at the back of his head. "My dad's a famous mechanic and he's sought after a lot. I plan to take after him when he retires and all."

"Good luck in that, Souda. Give me a discount too when that happens, won't you?"

"Hey, that's just cheating!"

We laugh and give each other a friendly pat on the back and I think to myself that, maybe this isn't so bad at all. I made my first friend here and school hasn't even started yet. Maybe I was just thinking too much earlier.

This might turn out to be a fun-filled school life after all.

* * *

**General POV**

The door to the guestroom located at the ground floor of Dorm B is slammed open with much force. A grumpy-looking boy walks in with his hands in his pocket. "Oi, seems like we're getting a transfer student."

Nanami shifts her attention from her PSP to the boy. "A transfer student?" She cocks her head to the other side.

"Young Master, what is the meaning of this?" A grey-haired woman with a pair of fierce-looking red eyes stands up from the couch she was sitting on immediately. Her face wears an expression that screams a mixture of reluctance and shock.

"'s what I've been saying, we're getting a transfer student, Peko." He replies the grey-haired woman.

"Kuzuryuu-kun, are you sure it will be okay for you to be here?" Komaeda says, a breathy laugh escaping as his lips part. "You get what I mean, right? You're a human in a room full of people who aren't one."

"Shut up." The boy addressed as Kuzuryuu sends a glare in Komaeda's way. "I live in this dorm, you dumbass. The fact that this dorm is inhabited by a bunch of fucking vampires isn't going to stop me from doing whatever I like."

"Are you possibly not aware that vampires are thirsty creatures who longs for human blood?"

Kuzuryuu gets what the white-haired boy was trying to get at. _'Heh, full of shit as usual.'_ He thinks to himself. "You touch me, I kill you. Simple as that." He says.

"Ah, that's to be expected from the son of a gangster!"

"Komaeda-kun." Nanami gives Komaeda a dangerous look, signaling him to keep his mouth shut and not say anything unnecessary, before turning to Kuzuryuu. "Anyway, what is this about a transfer student? Would you mind to fill us in?"

"Ain't have any idea how he looks like or what, but I heard he's assigned to live in this dorm." Kuzuryuu flips out a piece of crumpled paper from the pocket of his blazer and throws it at Nanami, who catches it just nicely. Nanami unfolds and straightens the paper and her eyes scan every single word written on it.

"Hajime Hinata…a 15 year old boy from a normal school…" Nanami reads aloud. She takes her time reading the contents of the paper before she raises her head and looks at everyone in the room. "I think as long as we act normal and not make it obvious when night comes, we won't be found out."

"I-I agree w-with Nanami-san…" A purple-haired girl barely stutters and raises a hand. "S-she has a point…"

"Yeah, we need to do everything at all costs to not let the transfer student find out about us." A short brunette raises his hand as well. He looks determined and serious. "Especially since us vampires get unbelievably thirsty when night comes."

"I believe that is why we set the rule of only taking blood from someone of our kind when that happens, Naegi." Peko says.

Nanami nods. "We all need to work together. That's what we all have been doing up until now, right? Keeping our identities a secret from everyone in this school, including our own principal…" She turns off her PSP and settles the device on her lap. Then she laces her fingers together. "The sun is almost setting soon. The transfer student is already here by now."

"Hmm…" Komaeda hums softly to himself, his fingers playing with his own locks. He stops when he notices everyone looking at him. "Ah, worry not; I won't lay a finger on the transfer student! I'll act as normal as I could as well."

"Hopefully." Nanami says in response, her voice full of doubt. She folds the paper neatly and places it on the nearest table. "For now, let's all keep our cool and say hello to the transfer student."

Everyone nods in agreement.

* * *

**General POV**

Nighttime comes and according to Souda, the workers in the dining room of every dorm always prepare food for the students who inhabit the place. Hinata follows a map Souda drew for him and eventually finds the cafeteria. The place is empty when he steps in. Silence fill up the air and Hinata's nose twitches a little when he smells spice.

"Whoa! It sure smells good in here." He says to himself as he sniffs a little more before walking over to the counter. He looks at the menu that has been prepared beforehand on the table. Hinata picks one up and starts to look through the pages when he hears footsteps getting closer.

He looks up to see an attractive white-haired boy making his way into the cafeteria. The boy looks around with a curious expression before he spots Hinata and he gives him a wave. Hinata isn't sure what to do so he just awkwardly waves back.

"Ah, you must be Hinata-kun, correct?" The boy speaks as he approaches the brunette.

"Uh…yeah, I am."

"Nice to meet you." The boy gives him a friendly smile. "Ah…my name is Nagito Komaeda, but call me whatever you would prefer. I live in the same dorm as you."

"Oh, right—wait, how did you know my name?"

"Sorry, sorry, I should've stated that beforehand, maybe?" Komaeda smiles apologetically at Hinata. "I heard about you from a friend. Would that be convincing enough?"

_'A friend? Probably Souda…'_ Hinata thinks to himself. "Oh yeah, nice to meet you too then." Hinata smiles at him and extends a hand, expecting a handshake, in which the white-haired boy did fulfill his expectations. A shiver runs down Hinata's spine the moment his hand comes into contact with Komaeda's. He has never touched a hand this cold before. It's as if he was a living corpse.

"I'm surprised you didn't hesitate to touch someone like me, Hinata-kun." Komaeda says with a surprised expression. "You're very friendly."

"I get that a lot." Hinata laughs a little, feeling somewhat flattered. His first impression is that Komaeda is a nice guy, he decides. "Did you come here to get dinner as well? It's 9 o' clock and it's rather late."

"I didn't come here for that, but if Hinata-kun wants to eat dinner though I'll leave. I'd rather not intrude after all!"

"No, it's alright. Besides, having some company sounds nice."

"Can I really join you, Hinata-kun?" Komaeda asks again, seeming surprised.

"Of course you can."

The white-haired boy smiles somewhat apologetically at Hinata. "I'm sorry you have to bear with someone like me. I'll make sure to not be so irritating then!" The brunette gives Komaeda a weird look, and Komaeda figures that he must have said something unusual. "Ah…you can take no notice of what I've said. In any case Hinata-kun, better be off going getting some food! I'll wait for you here."

"Alright."

Hinata turns back to the counter again. "One bowl of prawn ramen please." Komaeda hears him say as the worker who attends to Hinata nods and goes off to make his order. Komaeda scans Hinata's entire being. He has rather strange hair, he thinks. It's quite unique. Hinata is quite slim as well, Komaeda notes, though he doesn't have the best body shape.

Then his eyes trails upwards…to his neck. Hinata has very short hair and it doesn't even go beyond shoulder length as well so his neck is very much exposed. Komaeda takes a deep breath as he focuses on the brunette's neck. A strong desire begins to swell within him and Komaeda realizes that it's nighttime so it's dangerous for him to go around staring at people's neck.

Komaeda subconsciously reaches out to touch Hinata's neck, who shudders a little in response and turns to glance at Komaeda over his shoulders.

"Komaeda?"

He doesn't respond. He just continues to stare at the neck, _Hinata's _neck. "Hinata-kun…" He manages to choke out his name before he approaches him and—

"Komaeda-kun."

A familiar voice calls out and Komaeda turns around to find Nanami standing behind him, not looking all that pleased at all. Then her face twists back to her usual blank expression as she averts her eyes. "You must be Hinata-kun."

"Oh…yeah, I am." Hinata is surprised to see her. And it's not just her, behind the girl stands a few more others. It's as if they all appeared out of nowhere.

"I'm Chiaki Nanami. Nice to meet you, Hinata-kun." She says in a rather…uninterested voice. Hinata isn't sure whether or not she meant it with her 'nice to meet you'.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too…" Hinata smiles awkwardly at her. Nanami nods and steps aside to let the other students behind her get their opportunity to introduce themselves.

"I-I'm Mikan Tsumiki…n-nice to meet you, H-Hinata-san…!"

"Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu is the name. You're not on my shit list as long as you don't piss me off."

"My name is Peko Pekoyama. It will be my pleasure to meet you, Hajime Hinata."

"Oh, I'm Makoto Naegi. I'm not very good with introductions actually so…"

"We're all from the same dorm as you." Nanami explains. "So you can consider us dorm mates."

"Y-yeah, nice to meet all of you as well." Hinata stutters a little. He's surprised that so many people from his own dorm actually came to introduce themselves. He thinks to himself, wow these people are nice.

"There are some others too, but I don't think they're here. Mm…" Nanami hums softly. "What do you think we should do now?"

"Since we have all gathered here, I believe it would be the utmost courtesy to have dinner with you, Hinata." Peko crosses her arms and her eyes dart around the room. "Take this as an honorable opportunity to get to know each other more."

A faint 'tch' escapes Kuzuryuu's lips as he looks away irritably. "Whatever, let's get this over with."

The rest line up to make their order while Hinata and Komaeda go to find a table large enough to fit seven people. Nanami steals a glance on them, worry written all over her expression and before she realizes it, it's her turn to make her order.

* * *

**Komaeda's POV**

Midnight comes really soon and I sit myself near the big window. I look out and notice that grey clouds have started to block the moon again. It's most likely going to rain again, but it doesn't bother me, as I grew fond of the rain and the weather's…"cloudy" mood. Mm…

I hear a knock on the door, but I'm about a hundred percent sure I know who it is waiting for me behind that door.

"Come on in, Nanami-san." I call out and the door opens and – sure enough, Nanami-san is standing at the doorway. I know exactly what she's doing to say too, judging from the expression she has on her face, but…ah, it's not as if I could blame her though.

"Komaeda-kun."

"I know what you have in mind, Nanami-san." I tell her. "Worry not; I've said it before, right? I'm not going to lay a filthy finger on Hinata-kun!"

"Are you really sure?" She asks with obvious doubt in her voice. Nanami-san crosses her arms and seems to look very worried. "Hinata-kun is a nice person and I don't want him to find out about us…"

I frown. Am I really that hard to trust? Ah, but then again it's not like I could blame Nanami-san at all. "I don't intend to do anything to him, Nanami-san, but if I end up doing something though…" I trail off and she gives me a look. "But can you blame me? Hinata-kun is very interesting after all!"

"Komaeda-kun, please." Nanami-san says sternly and I recognize it as a warning more than anything. "It's a joke, Nanami-san." I say, laughing to hopefully calm the situation a little. Ah…Nanami-san must see me as what people would call 'worrisome' at this point, probably in a not-so good way. I really don't intend to do anything though. There is no reason for me to, after all, as interesting as Hinata-kun is.

"Nanami-san…"

"I was worried earlier…when you kept staring at his neck, I thought you were going to—"

"Attack him?" I interrupt, helping her to finish her sentence. "Please rest assured, I really have no ulterior motives at all, Nanami-san!" I smile at all. "I was simply observing him."

Nanami-san seems to hesitate a little before she gives me a small nod and exits the room. I stay my position for a moment before I stand up and look out the window to observe the night sky. The moon tonight is a full moon and it's quite enchanting, to say the least.

"Hajime Hinata…" I find myself mumbling his name. I grip the curtains. "I've told Nanami-san I find him interesting, but is it really the case I wonder?" As friendly Hinata-kun is, will he be worth for all the interest I have in him? As they say, "only time would tell", or a better phrase would be "only god knows".


	2. Chapter 2

**Komaeda's POV**

In this world, there are two types of people – people who are human and people who are not. Most people would deem the latter type as people who are accursed, and I would like to think that it's most likely the truth. After all, vampires are just thirsty creatures on preys on helpless humans for their blood.

My existence is cursed the moment I was born. My parents were blood-hunters who died in a shooting accident when I was young, and since then I suffered a mysterious amnesia which caused all my memories about my childhood to disappear. It's rather strange, really! I had no idea what happened, but it must be a stroke of bad luck, as people would tell me.

I paid no mind to my amnesia. Instead of feeling sad about my parents' death, I was feeling content because their deaths left me in a huge sum of money. I do feel upset that I've lost the two people who gave birth to me, but then again their wealth is also what people would call a stroke of good luck. That's exactly how my life works. I wander through life aimlessly. Unlike other kids, I have nothing to care about at all, but there _is_ one thing that keeps me moving on.

Luck.

As absurd as it may sound, I possess extreme luck. You could even say Lady Luck is on my side! Because of my luck, I was able to achieve many great things – such as winning the lottery ticket, finding a piece of money note in a trash can and getting an A on a test I hadn't studied for. You could dismiss them as mere coincidences, but I'd like to think it's luck.

However, the luck comes with a disadvantage. My luck works in a strange way, in a luck cycle, you could say. It works in the sense that bad things happen first, which people would call bad luck, and then good things arrive to aid the pain, which people would call good luck. For example…imagine you were struck with a serious illness which makes you feel horrible 24 hours a day, but the nurse who attends to you is a pretty one who you soon hook up with after your illness is cured. That's exactly how my luck works.

It's also because of my luck that I managed to enroll into Hope's Peak, the prestigious school for prodigies, despite my race. There's absolutely nothing remarkable about me at all, and yet I was still picked to enroll into a school for mostly eminent students. My luck strike again when I found out I wasn't the only vampire who was picked to enroll in Hope's Peak.

I attend Hope's Peak with my childhood friend, Nanami-san. What about my relationship with her…? Ah, to put it simply, Nanami-san is my former fiancé. I say 'former' because our engagement broke off shortly after the death of my parents. My family and her family have good relations. That was what triggered our engagement, even though I don't feel for Nanami-san in that way, and I think the same goes for her.

Life at Hope's Peak has always been the same for me. It was…ah, peaceful, as how I would like to describe it. Of course, it's quite dull as well, but it's not as if I have the privilege to complain…that is, until Hajime Hinata came into my life. However, I wonder how long it would take for him to find out our little secret…

And how long it would take for him to become wary of me once he finds out what dwells within me…

* * *

**General POV**

Everyone gathers at the guestroom the next morning. This time, there are more people than there were yesterday, partly because Ishimaru forced most of them to come to the guestroom. All of them have been informed about Hinata's arrival by then.

It took Nanami 40 minutes to wake up and get dressed as usual. Nanami is always the last one to arrive at the guestroom due to the fact that she falls asleep very easily, and this is because she tends to stay up late to play her video games.

"Sorry, I—" Nanami yawns and stretches herself. "—took so long…"

"_When_ aren't you wasting our time?" Kuzuryuu states almost irritably and puts his hands in his pockets. He looks around; an infuriated sigh escapes his lips. "So everyone's here? Guess we can start talking then."

"But what is there to talk about? Naegi asks, scratching his cheek and looking rather…pale and exhausted. He looks as if he lacks two days of sleep. He notices Kirigiri looking at him with a concerned expression on her face and figures that she noticed so he laughs awkwardly as an attempt to distract himself. "I mean, we've said all we have to last night, didn't we?"

"Not really. I just found out something else." Kirigiri speaks. She waits for a few moments, until everyone shifts their attention on her, then she opens her mouth again. "Hajime Hinata will be going to Class 78."

"B-but…isn't that class full…?" A boy says meekly. He looks like a frightened mouse, afraid that one of the predators here would soon gobble him up.

"No, _our_ class is, Fujisaki-kun." Kirigiri corrects him. "That's probably why they put him in Class 78."

"So we're gonna be classmates with that Hinata?" Kuzuryuu sits himself on the couch and crosses his legs, his hands still in his pockets. He doesn't look pleased to know he's going to be classmates with the transfer student somehow.

"I-isn't that g-good?" Tsumiki stutters, smiling and looking quite excited. "W-we can get to k-know more about Hinata-san this way…"

"So the point is we gotta stay our cool and greet the boy, yeah?" Owari says, digging her own nostrils and stifling a yawn. "No problem."

"Then that should be it for now." Kirigiri concludes. "You're all dismissed."

Everyone nods and stands up. Some head back to their rooms, presumably to either do their own things or get more sleep. Kirigiri, however, is the only one who stays back, along with Naegi who has his arms wrapped around himself. He shivers uncontrollably and Kirigiri is quick to notice this. She moves over to the brunette and sits herself beside him, looking quite concerned.

"Naegi-kun, is there something wrong?"

"Ki—ah…K-Kirigiri-san…" Naegi manages to say. His face is very pale, paler than usual and paler than Komaeda. He raises his head and looks at Kirigiri, trying to force on a smile. "There's…nothing wrong."

"It's _not_ nothing. You don't look very good." Kirigiri attempts to sit closer, but Naegi just moves away from her. It's clear to Kirigiri by now that Naegi was trying to avoid her. "Tell me what's wrong." She demands.

"I…" Naegi stutters a little. He clears his throat. "I haven't been getting any doses of blood for a few days." He divulges, looking a little strained as his eyes widens a little. He feels as if he's going to throw up. "I feel as if I'm about to reach my limit."

"Why didn't you take any?"

"I…" The words die in Naegi's throat as he gulps his saliva. He looks away, clearly not wanting to meet Kirigiri's gaze, and immediately Kirigiri knows why. She has known the fact that vampires generally don't prefer to drink the blood of another vampire because the taste of a vampire's blood is completely different from that of a human's blood. For some reason unknown to her, Naegi always comes down with a fever whenever he drinks the blood of a vampire. Kirigiri now knows what caused Naegi's current condition – his hunger isn't satisfied.

"Naegi-kun." Kirigiri moves closer to him and places a hand on his trembling shoulder. She closes in and whispers something into his ears.

* * *

**Hinata's POV**

Morning comes and I find myself awake early in the morning. There's a few more days before school starts. I suffered insomnia last night thanks to the fact that I'm still not completely used to living in dorms yet. Souda and I share a bunk bed and I took the one on the bottom since I don't fancy climbing up ladders late at night.

I kick my legs off the bed and let out a lazy groan. The curtains cover the window, which is a good thing, I think to myself. I don't need the blazing sun is fry me alive first thing in the morning anyway. I scratch my head and make my way towards the bathroom, but not before checking whether or not Souda is still asleep. Souda isn't in bed though. _'Hm…he must have woken up before me.'_ I think to myself as I approach the bathroom before I hear a flushing noise coming from inside.

The bathroom door opens and Souda walks out in a plain white t-shirt and loose trousers, hair wet with water dripping down his locks. "Mornin' Hinata." He greets the moment he sees me.

"Yeah. Good morning to you too, Souda."

"Man, yer up earlier than I thought." Souda grabs a towel from his closet and plops it over his wet hair. "How did ya sleep?"

"Not so good." I groan again. "I had insomnia."

"Man, that sucks. Ya can go in now if ya wanna use the bathroom."

I nod and head into the bathroom. The bathroom is clean and isn't as cramped as I expected it would be. Maybe all the things I've heard about dorms were untrue. I turn on the sink and begin to wash my face.

The moment I step out of the bathroom, I see Souda leaning against the door. He has changed into his yellow jumpsuit. Souda grins at me. "Hey Hinata, I'm headin' to the cafeteria to get a bite. Wanna join me?"

I feel welcomed by the invitation. "Sure!"

"Awesome. Hurry up and get out of your pajamas then!"

I quickly change into something more decent. It didn't take long for me to do so and Souda and I head out of our room. The corridors are in silence and I could hear mild snoring coming from some of the rooms as we walk down the corridor. I feel glad that there are a few more days before school starts or it's going to be hectic for me, especially since I just came here.

"Wonder what the cafeteria's servin' today." Souda says with a curious expression. Once we reach our destination, Souda heads over to the counter and observes the menu. "Mm…" He hums softly and I walk up to him, peeking at the menu from behind him. On the menu is curry fish dish, mango pudding, grass jelly milk tea and the like. I couldn't help but to be amazed by the rich food the cafeteria serves since most school cafeterias serve shit most of the time.

Souda and I make our orders and head towards an empty table with our trays. The cafeteria is empty actually and silence fills the air pretty quickly, which makes me feel kind of awkward. It's especially so since I met Souda like…a day ago and I know nothing about him, at least not enough to try and initiate a conversation between us. I feel like a prisoner walking with an ogre. Okay nevermind, that was a terrible analogy. A part of me wishes somebody would come in soon, but that obviously isn't going to happen so I decide to give it a go.

"…say, Souda?"

"Hm?"

"Since we just met, I was wondering if we could take this opportunity to get to know each other better."

"Oh, hell yeah I'm totally down for that!" Souda shoots me a grin. I'm glad he seems at least enthusiastic about it.

We settle down on a table near the windows. The sunlight pierces through the glass and I instinctively pull the curtains down. "You can go first if you'd like."

"Hm? Oh yeah, sure." Souda sits himself properly and clears his throat. "Uh…what do ya wanna hear…?" He scratches his cheek. "

"Anything works." The brunette shrugs.

"Aite. Uh, though my dad's a professional, I actually came from a poor family. 'Ma dad used to be kinda problematic." Souda takes a sip of his drink and shakes the glass. "Ya know…like those from an abusive family? But 'm not sayin' the old man's abusive; he just has some temper management problems."

"Is that so?" I couldn't really relate since my parents are on good terms with each other and with the family, though I'm an only-child. Sometimes they do argue over things like work and financial problems, but they weren't that bad. I kind of pity Souda a little.

"He would come all grumpy and shit, then pull on mom's hair. It scared me shitless, I tell ya! Man, if you don't got any abusive parents, ya better feel grateful. I'm kinda glad my dad learnt his lesson and stopped bein' such a douche."

"Huh, I see."

"I guess that's all? Man, I really dunno what 'ta say. Yer turn now."

"Uh…well, to be fair, there's nothing remarkable about me either. I come from a decent family, I get along well with parents and I live a fairly normal life. It's kind of boring sometimes, but I'm good."

"Now yer makin' me envy ya." Souda shoots him a look and downs his entire glass. "Hey, hey, puttin' that aside have ya heard of the rumors?"

"What rumors?"

"Ya haven't heard?" I raise an eyebrow. My curiosity is piqued. What is he talking about?

"No…not really."

"Err…how do I explain this?" He presses his beanie and scuffs it against his hair hidden inside. "There're rumors sayin' that…this dorm is haunted."

"Well, sometimes it happens in schools."

"Yeah, but there's a case lately, ya know?" Souda looks sideways, checking to see if there's anyone around before he stands up and closes into me. "A girl visited our dorm late at night and it was rainin', which makes it even creepier, man. She said she wanna pass a thing to a buddy, but then she saw something movin' in the dark." He says in a low voice, then it escalates to a barely audible whisper. "They say she saw a beast with red eyes and sharp fangs."

"It might have been just her imagination."

"It might be, if this wasn't the first case that has happened, man."

"Huh? There's more?"

"Yeah, students who came 'ere, especially at night, experienced the same thing. They all saw beasts with red eyes and fangs."

"But it's just a rumor, Souda." I say. It all sounds so preposterous to be honest, maybe a little risible when I try to imagine. Beasts don't exist; they're only things you see in fairytale and maybe sci-fi stories. Okay, maybe horror ones too, but you get the idea.

"I dunno. I haven't experienced any weird things myself." He shrugs. "I've been 'ere for two months, man, and it's all fine…aside from asshole students and shit like that, yeah."

"I'm sure they're just rumors." Or at least that's what I'd like to believe. Not that I believe them in the first place anyway. I snigger a little.

"Yeah, Imma believe that too. I never wanna meet any of those beast things, I might just pee my pants."

"That's too much information."

"Shut up, ya know what I'm gettin' at!"

I let out a soft laugh. Souda is nice company and I find myself enjoying my time with him a lot, which makes me feel really glad because the first friend I made at a new school is someone energetic and nice. I'm also not a genius at starting conversations with people in general and the one we're having right now seems to be going smoothly.

"Hey, our food is getting cold."

"Oh shit, right on it!"

Breakfast with Souda turns out surprisingly pleasant.

* * *

**General POV**

"Ah….ahh—haah…!" Naegi lies on the floor in his room, his fingers clawing in clear desperation at his throat, as if to ease something. His breaths come out ragged and his breathing takes a turn for the heavy. Naegi is writhing in agony. _'Am I going to die at this rate? Is this the end?'_ As asinine those thoughts sound, they wouldn't stop running through his head. He feels unbelievable and extremely thirsty and his throat is extremely dry.

The door is suddenly slammed open and Naegi doesn't even have the energy to look who it is. He doesn't even need to when he hears the sounds of footsteps. He recognizes who it is. Kirigiri stops before Naegi, looking very irritated and worried at the same time.

"…Kirigiri-san."

"Why didn't you come? I thought I told you to meet me in my room." She says irritably and gets on her knees to touch Naegi's forehead. It feels like a sauna and she withdraws her hand immediately.

"I…" Naegi claws at his throat again, looking apologetic and he refuses to face her. "I didn't want to…trouble you, Kirigiri-san…"

"You aren't, I said that a lot of times."

"But…you're afraid of vampires, right…?" Naegi chokes out as more sweat trickles down his forehead. Kirigiri looks affected for a moment before her face twists back to her usual stoic expression. She sighs to herself and, with much strength, pulls Naegi up and forces him into a sitting position.

"H-huh…?!"

"Naegi-kun." Kirigiri sounds serious. She proceeds to pull him closer and rests his head on her neck. Naegi knows immediately what this means. He panics and starts to slightly flail around.

"Hold on, K-Kirigiri-san….!" Naegi tries to push her away, but he feels weak and Kirigiri feels much stronger than she usually is because her grip on him in tight. It doesn't seem as if she's going to let him go anytime soon. Naegi stops moving about when he notices that Kirigiri is shaking a little, though her voice betrays that.

"Do it." Her voice sounds low and it sends chills down Naegi's spine. He has never heard Kirigiri this serious before. He looks at her neck and immediately closes his eyes. _'No, I can't…'_ He thinks to himself. He doesn't want to contribute to Kirigiri's already horrible trauma. Naegi attempts to push her away again and—

_"Do it."_

Naegi's eyes widen. Kirigiri is completely serious and is aware of what she's doing right now. Naegi grits his teeth and whispers an audible 'sorry' into Kirigiri's ears before he nuzzles into her neck. Kirigiri shuts her eyes, sweat rolling down her cheeks as she braces himself. Naegi opens his mouth, baring his fangs and swiftly sinks them into her flesh.

* * *

**Hinata's POV**

I spend the whole day unpacking my luggage and cleaning my space in our room. Night falls sooner than I expected and I decide to take a stroll in the school garden. Hope's Peak has a very nice garden that has blooming flowers and a small fountain sitting in the middle. Plus, walking around could give me a better idea of how the school campus is like.

"Hey Souda, you want to come along?"

"Nah, man, I'm actually kinda tired from working on my invention yesterday." He stifles a yawn and shoots me an apologetic look. "Sorry, maybe next time."

"Yeah, sure." I nod and head out.

The corridors are empty and quiet even though it's just 8 o' clock at the moment. Students here really are organized, huh. The dorm is actually really clean and tidy, now that I noticed it, and it looks grand as well in terms of building designs. Hope's Peak is really a school for rich students and I'm not sure if I could fit in the circle. I suddenly find myself feeling nervous again.

"Oh yeah…I haven't really look around in this dorm, have I?" I mutter to myself. It hit my mind that I've only been to my room and the dorm's cafeteria. I decide to take a look around within this dorm. Some students are probably asleep by now, but if I'm careful I won't get into any trouble…right? I shrug to myself. "Oh well."

The silence filling the corridors feels a little eerie, but I don't let it get to me. I walk down the stairs and suddenly a thought hits me. "I wonder which room is Komaeda in..." I couldn't help but to wonder for some reason. The dude seemed a little mysterious, but he's friendly overall. I wonder if we'll hang out again once school starts.

Suddenly, I hear something and snap out of my thoughts. What was that? It sounds like…something along the lines of 'ugh' and 'ah' sounds and they're coming from a floor below me. I feel adventurous tonight so I decide to go and check out the source. I tiptoe down the stairs, careful to not make any loud noises in worry that the students who are asleep would be woken up. The noises grow louder and louder each time I take a step further into the empty corridor.

I stop dead in my tracks the moment the sounds become a little recognizable. They sound like…whimpering noises? Whoever it is sounds like he or she is in a lot of pain. It could be dangerous. The noises continue to grow louder until I reach the end of the corridor. The source is the room at the very end of this corridor, and somehow it adds onto to the creepiness. The door isn't closed. Well, it_ is_ closed, but not completely – there's a small gap between the door frame and the door itself.

"N-Naegi-kun…!"

Naegi? Isn't he one of Komaeda's friends?

Now that I'm standing right in front of the door, the noises sound a lot clearer now. The person whimpering is a girl. Suddenly, I feel a little embarrassed…because if it's a girl and Naegi is with her, that could only mean…no wait, we're still in highschool, although I'm not saying it's impossible for highschoolers to do _that_, but still…it could be anything. I think it's best if I check out just in case.

Slowly and quietly, I tiptoe closer to the door and peeks inside through the smell gap. On the floor is a white-haired woman whom I don't recognize, but I do recognize Naegi. He's…on her neck. Damn it, I knew it! I shouldn't have checked, it was a bad idea. I feel heat rushing to my face and I'm prepared to leave when…

"Naegi-kun, it hurts a little." The girl whimpers softly and Naegi withdraws and I feel adrenaline swelling within my body at what I'm seeing right now.

There's…blood. Lots of blood. There are droplets of blood on the floor as well, but that isn't what caught my eye. What caught my eye is Naegi's mouth – what's inside his mouth, in fact. Are those fangs? It couldn't be, right? They look so real and…they look like they're attached. There's blood dripping down from those fangs and Naegi's chin as well. The girl lets out a sigh of relief and rubs at her neck, and even more blood come dripping down to the floor.

It must have taken me minutes to realize that it was all real – _those fangs_ are real, and it hits me that Naegi is by no means a normal person. I step back, but my back meets with the wall behind me and the contact earns a soft yelp from me before I quickly cover my mouth. Shit, they must have heard me by now. Gasps from inside the room confirm it and I instinctively make a run for it.

I don't stop running and it seems to last forever. My heart is beating wildly fast and I feel horrified at what I just saw. What was that? Why is this happening? My brain is so occupied with those thoughts and I trip in my tracks.

"Shit!" I curse aloud. Somehow I have managed to scrap my knee even though I'm wearing pants that cover up until my ankles and now it's bleeding through the dark fabric. _'Great job, Hajime.'_ I tell myself before getting up again. It hurts and I curse internally when I realize it's impossible to run like this. I decide to limp as fast as I could back to my room—

A hand suddenly reaches out and grabs me from behind, covering my mouth. Panic takes over me in an instant and I hear a low voice whispering into my ears. "Don't move."

I obey my captor's order. If he has a knife or something dangerous on him that he could use to cut me into pieces, then I'd rather not do anything that would piss him off. He drags me inside a dark room and closes the door before he releases me. I let out a gasp, trying to breathe properly.

"The coast is clear now." The voice sounds very familiar and I hear a soft click before the lights are turned on. Slowly, I raise my head and standing in front of me is the boy I made friends with yesterday, Komaeda.

"Komaeda…!"

"You may want to keep it down, Hinata-kun. Some students are sleeping." He brings a finger to his mouth and smiles at me.

"B-but…why—"

"I figured you were in trouble since you were running in the halls. If Ishimaru-kun catches you, you would be in detentions once school starts."

"Ishimaru…?" Wait no, that's not important right now. I got to tell someone what I saw just now! "Komaeda, I need to tell you som—"

"I know."

_What?_

I stare at him, feeling dumbfounded. Well, I must obviously look dumb right now, but again that's not important. Komaeda simply smiles at me again. "You hurt your knees, correct? For the meantime, let's get it treated before it gets infected and starts decomposing, Hinata-kun!"

Alright, that was a pretty creepy way to put it. Besides, we don't decompose from just a wound unless we died or something. I nod and shoot him a strange look. He gestures me to sit on top of a big box. Wait, a box? I look at my surroundings…there are shelves and empty boxes everywhere. This looks like a storage room or the sort.

"Take a seat. I'll find the bandages for you."

I did exactly as he told me to. I grip on the sides of the box, trying to calm down and catch my breath, rewinding what I saw earlier inside my mind and I feel a chill run down my spine. The realization 'Naegi is not someone normal' keeps haunting me at the moment and I feel a headache coming.

"Ugh…"

"Here they are!" Komaeda beam and takes out a roll of bandages from a box stacked on one of the shelves. "I'll give you a hand, Hinata-kun, so please roll up your pants."

Komaeda must have noticed that I look somewhat strained so he leans down and helps me roll my pants up to my knees instead. He observes the wound on my knee and I feel my stomach heaved. I didn't notice that it was scrapped this badly. There is a lot of blood dripping down my knee and it only reminds me of what I saw earlier. Obviously, I'm still feeling appalled.

"It's quite a deep wound, Hinata-kun." Komaeda begins to unroll the bandages. "Ah, about what you're saying earlier…you can talk now if you would like."

"Oh…" I blink. "I…I saw Naegi and another girl…they were in a room two floors below mine and I saw—"

"Naegi-kun on her neck?" Komaeda interrupts, finishing my sentence. I stare at him in surprise. How does he know? My expression must have confirmed his suspicions. He taps his chin thoughtfully. "Ah, just as I thought…you saw it, Hinata-kun, didn't you?"

Saw it? Wait, what does he mean?

"Uh, I don't really get what you mean, but…"

"Allow me to address you a question, Hinata-kun. Are you positively sure that you're safe being alone with someone like me at the moment?"

I get even more confused. Now that he mentioned it, it does feel awkward being alone with him since I don't even know him all that well, but I have a feeling he's trying to get at something.

"…what do you mean…?"

"If my suspicions are correct on what you saw, are you sure your current situation is any safer?" Komaeda shoots me an eerie smile and I feel sweat on my forehead. I have a feeling I know what he's trying to get at, but…it all sounds too absurd and suddenly I feel dreadful. I fear the worst.

I stand up and try to head towards the foor, but Komaeda grabs me by the ankle. "Why are you running away, Hinata-kun? Have I said something wrong?"

"You're making this suspicious than it already is. Let go!"

"Hinata-kun." His voice sounds cold all of a sudden and it freezes the blood in my veins. He abruptly pulls my ankles and I fall to the floor with a loud thud.

"Argh!"

"I was planning to restrain myself up until the very end. However…" Komaeda bites his lower lip and now it's his turn to look strained. "The smell is unexpectedly tempting." He looks at my wound and this pretty much confirms my suspicions. I try to kick him away, but to no avail.

"Let go!"

I scream and thrash about, and finally he releases his grip on me. Suddenly, it's all coming together somehow. Those rumors Souda told me about…those rumors about students of this school coming across beasts with red eyes and sharp fangs….what I just seen earlier…and now this. Although I could be wrong about Komaeda, but my instincts told me he's not someone safe to be with either.

"Ahaha…Hinata-kun, that was rather rough of you." Komaeda laughs softly and stands up, dusting the dirt off his pants and jacket. "Your resistance is stronger than I expected!"

"Komaeda, be honest with me." I glare at him. "What are you planning?"

"Me? Oh, nothing, really! I was simply trying to treat your wound, Hinata-kun. A good deed done by a lot, isn't it?" He says, clearly trying to derail the conversation, but I'm not one to be fooled so easily.

"Don't change the subject."

"Ah, but I wasn't lying about it. I didn't have any ulterior motives at all."

"Didn't? Doesn't that mean you _do_ have ulterior motives now?"

"Quite, but I wouldn't say they are." He takes a step closer and I move backwards until my back comes into contact with the door behind me. Shit. "Say Hinata-kun, would you hate me if you found out I'm not actually what you seem to think I am?"

"Huh?"

"Like, for example…" He shoots me a smile that sends another chill down my spine again. "What if I'm not human?"

"You're…not?"

"I was just saying, but it might be possible."

"But…" I eye him suspiciously. "You're not…aren't you…?"

All I receive is silence which only makes me feel even more dreadful. Komaeda looks at me with a blank expression and I can't tell what he's thinking.

"Ahaha…hahaha…" His eerie laugh breaks the silence and I stare at him as if he's crazy. "I'm glad you're one to catch up so quickly, Hinata-kun."

"I knew it! Then you and Naegi are…"

"Oh, I don't know, Hinata-kun. It's a puzzle you have to solve yourself."

"Now isn't the time to screw around!"

"But you _have _already put all the pieces together, haven't you?" His smile grows wider. He bends over and grabs my ankle again, lifting me up slightly. The situation makes my heart pound faster in anticipated fear.

"W-what are you doing?!"

"Treating your wounds, of course. Your knee is bleeding."

"Who the _fuck_ treats wounds this way?!"

"I couldn't find any antiseptics to stop the bleeding, and since I see no reason to keep it a secret anymore I will clean off the blood myself."

When he said he'll clean off the blood himself, he means it – literally. He presses his tongue against my foot and drags it upwards; licking the blood off and I feel a sharp pain when his tongue reaches to my knee, where the wound is. It fucking hurts and I need to get away from him before something happens. Again on instincts, I kick him on the cheeks with all the energy I could muster.

"Stop!"

Komaeda let out a loud 'tch' the moment my shoe comes into contact with his cheeks, and he tumbles backwards. I attempt to back off again, but the door I'm leaning on reminds me that there is no more space for me to back off onto. I curse internally and watch as Komaeda's face twists into pain. He rubs the spot where he was kicked and laughs. "How cruel, Hinata-kun…and here I was trying to treat your wound." He shoots me an icy look. It's clear that he is _not_ amused at the fact that I just kicked him.

There's blood at one corner of his lips. Shit, did I hit him too hard? He seems to notice this and smiles at me, and licks the blood. Komaeda had told me this is a puzzle I have to solve myself, and well guess what – I solved it. I figured out what's happening.

"Hinata-kun…" Komaeda stands up and makes his way towards me. I stand up and grabs for the doorknob, turning it swiftly and Komaeda frowns at this. He opens his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, and I notice – a pair of fangs.

I spare him no time to say what he wanted to say and dash out as soon as I open the door. I just want to get away from him and I run anyway even though my knee is hurt, not caring that I might wake the sleeping students up this time. The realization hit me like a brick. Those "beasts" in the rumors Souda told me about…they're not beasts. They're what Komaeda and Naegi are.

They're vampires.


End file.
